Illuminating device



YB, 1947- l. B. POLEVITZKY v Re. 22,896

' ILLUMINATING D-EVICE Original Filed Nov. 14, 1945 ZSheets-Sheet 1 July8, 1947. B.'POLEVITZKY .Re. 22,896 v Q I ILLUMINATING DEVICE OriginalFiled Nov. 14, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet? jjarfij azerz'izi Reissued July 8,1947 ILLUMINATING DEVICE Igor B. Polevitzky, Miami, Fla.

Original No. 2,405,518 dated August 6, 1946, Serial No. 628,516,November 14, 1945. Application for reissue December 31, 1946, Serial No.719,372

\ 10 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to illuminating devices of thegaseous discharge type. T..e invention may be applied to the severaltypes of discharge lamps which employ any gas or vapor which willsupport an electric discharge and serve as a source of illumination,such as mercury vapor, neon or argon or other gases.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a lamp of thistype, in which illumination is obtained from a relatively large area. L1the present invention, therefore, the body of illuminating gas isdisposed over a relatively large area, being confined substantiallybetween a pair of co'rifnling disks. For the purpose of providingrelatively narrow discharge paths between the electrodes employed in thespace, the space is partitioned in such a manner that it forms one ormore labyrinthine passage. In the present invention, therefore, thedischarge electrodes are disposed at the ends of the labyrinthinepassages and the latter serve as the path for the illuminatingdischarge.

Another aim of the present invention is to provide a plurality of suchlabyrinthine passages in the relatively flat space, these severalpassages forming several paths, which cooperate to yield a large areasource of illumination.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an illuminatingdevice of the type described in which the several discharge paths areinter-leaved or inter-related in a manner as togive the effect of asingle source of illumination.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide anilluminating device of the type described and in which the current insome of the passages is caused to lag or lead with reference to thecurrent in other passages, thereby substantially eliminating any flickereffect and rendering the illumination substantially uniform.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lampin which the fluorescent material is activated by a gaseous dischargethrough one or more sinuous or labyrinthine passages, thereby providingan area source of illumination with the entire area emitting lightuniformly.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understoodby persons skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawingsand the following specification and description thereof; it beingunderstood that these are illustrative of the present invention and thatvariations thereof will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a lamp embodying the present invention, aportion of the illuminating unit being broken away to provide a sideView of the partitions;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the illuminating space;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the illuminating chamber;

Fig. 4 is a face view of a modification which provides two dischargepaths;

Fig. 5 is another modification which provides four discharge paths; and

Fig. 6 is a schematic illustration of the wiring diagram.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the present illuminatingdevice comprises a standard screw base ill, a housing I! which containsthe auxiliary equipment and the illuminating unit l2. The illuminatingunit l2 comprises a cup-shaped receptacle I3 having an outward flangeit. This cup-shaped element it may be of any suitable material such asglass molded ceramic or any suitable plastic or stamped metal or thelike. The space within the cup-shaped container [3 is in the form shownin Fig. 2 partitioned into a single labyrinthine passage 55 by means ofthe single spiral partition I6, which extends from the center of thechamber to its side wall. The partition l6 like the container l3 may bemade of any suitable material, and preferably of the same material asthe container.

The partition i6 is lodged directly against the bottom 51 of thecontainer 13 and has its inner end 58 shaped in the form of asemi-circle as shown in Fig. 2. The other end of the spiral partition iscurved as shown at E9 and abuts against the side wall of the containerI3.

The electrode filaments 20 and 2| are mounted as shown at the ends ofthe labyrinthine passage !5; the electrode 26 being disposed as shownnear the curved end l9 of the partition H3, and the electrode 2| beingdisposed as shown across the curved portion if! of the wall Us. Theelectrode filaments may be disposed in a more or less vertical positionas shown in Fig. 3.

The cover glass 22 is disposed over the face of the chamber 13 and issealed by any suitable means to the flange l 4 thus providing ahermetically sealed space within the chamber. The partition ispreferably extends flush with the outer face of the flange l4 andpreferably touches the inner face of the glass cover 22.

The inner face of the container it. the inner face of the glass platecover 22, as well as the sides of the partition [6 are coated with anysuitable fluorescent material. In the process of manufacture the chamberis evacuated and the desired pressure of discharge gas is admittedthrough th passage 25 which is subsequently sealed. The cover glass 22will then be subjected to atmospheric pressure which will cause the sameto be slightly bowed inwardly and toward the edges of the partition Hi.

In the present construction the partition or partitions, whether in theform shown in Figs. 2 and 3 where there is only one partition, or in theforms shown in Figs. 4 and 5 where there are two and four partitionsneed not be installed in such a manner that the several passages aresealed off from each other. After the partition walls are suitablyshaped, it is sufficient to insert or install them in the housing insuch a manner that they are not likely to be displaced in ordinary use.For this purpose it will be sufficient to aflix one end of eachpartition against the side wall and the other end against the center ofthe bottom wall.

The housing and partitions, being coated on the inside surfaces, or onall surfaces exposed to the discharge with the fluorescent material, maybe made of metal such as sheet metal or the like. Thus in thisconstruction, the fluorescent material in addition to enhancing theillumination also serves to insulat the metal housing and metalpartitions. For this purpose the metal housing and metal partitions arecoated with fluorescent insulating enamel.

It will now be understood that when this lamp is put into operationsubstantially the entire space between the cover glass and the bottom ofthe unit becomes luminous. This is due to the fact that the dischargepassage covers substantially tliis entire area. This, together with thediifiusion effect of the luminous coating further enhances the uniformdistribution of illumination over the entire area.

In the form shown in Fig. 4 the structure is substantially identicalwith that shown in Fig. 1 except that the chamber I3 is divided into twolabyrinthine passages 30 and 3| by means of two spiral partitions 32 and33. A single electrode 34 is disposed at the center of the chamber whichserves as an electrode for both passages 39 and 3|, and two otherelectrodes 35 and 36 are disposed at the other end of the passages.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the space is divided into four labyrinthinepassages 46, 4|, 42 and 43 by means of four spiral partitions which likethe partitions in the other figures extend from approximately the centerof the chamber to its side walls by following a spiral curve. A filamentelectrod 44 at the center of the chamber serves as one electrode for twoadjacent discharge paths and the filament electrode 45 also serves as anelectrode for the two remaining adjacent discharge paths. At the otherend each discharge path is provided with its own electrode 46, 41, 38and 49.

As in the form shown in Figs. 1 2 and 3 so in the forms shown in Figs. 4and 5 the inner face of the container, the partitions and the inner faceof the cover glass are all coated with fluorescent or phosphorescentmaterial, with the result that the entire chamber constitutes a largearea source of illumination.

Instead of spiral labyrinths, the discharge paths may take any desiredsinuous or tortuous path, the essential feature being that such pathscover the entire area of the lamp.

Where the illuminating device has more than one discharge path all pathsare of substantially power factor of th lamp and a practical eliminationof the flicker effect of such lamp. This wiring diagram is schematicallyillustrated in Fig. 6.

The two discharge paths 3!] and 3| of Fig. 4 are represented in Fig. 6for purposes of simplicity as straight instead of sinuous. It will beunderstood also that these paths 30 and 3|, as shown in Fig. 6, may alsocorrespond to any pair of paths in the form shown in Fig, 5. The commonelectrode 34 of Fig, 4 is here shown for purposes of simplicity in twoparts, one part in path 30 and the other in path 3|. The startingswitches 40' are shown connected to the two discharge paths and whileshown as individual devices it will be understood that they may beoperated in unison. The line wires 4| may be connected to the lamp bymeans of the split phase device 42. The inductances 43 and 44, togetherwith the condenser 45, as shown, serve to cause one of the dischargepaths to lead and the other to lag.

I claim:

1. An illuminating device comprising a flat metal housing, having asubstantially flat bottom Wall, a coating of fluorescent insulatingenamel on the inner faces of said housing, and a substantially flattransparent cover plate parallel to the bottom wall sealed to the metalhousing, a fluorescent coating on the inner face of said cover plate,convolute metallic partitions in said housing divided the same into aplurality of spiral passages, all of substantially the same length, eachextending from substantially the center to the periphery of the housingand separated from each other by a single wall extending from the bottomwall to the cover plate, said partitions being coated with fluorescentinsulating enamel and fixedly connected to the housing only at their endportions, thermionic electrodes mounted in the housing at each end ofsaid passages, lead-ins for the electrodes, and a suitable gas fillingsaid housing and providing a discharge path between opposing electrodesserving as a source of illumination.

2. An illuminating device comprising a flat metal housing, having asubstantially fiat bottom wall, a coating of insulating enamel on theinner faces of said housing, a substantially flat transparent coverplate parallel to the bottom wall sealed to th metal housing, afluorescent coating on the inner face of said cover plate, convolutepartitions in said housing dividing the same into a plurality oflabyrinthine passages, all of substantially the same length, eachextending from substantially the center to the periphery of the housingand separated from each other by a single wall extending from the bottomwall to the cover plate, said partitions being coated with insulatingenamel, thermionic electrodes mounted in the housing at each end of saidpassages, leadins for the electrodes, and a suitable gas filling saidhousing and providing a discharge path between opposing electrodesserving as a source of illumination.

3. An illuminating device comprising a metal housing, having asubstantially fiat bottom wall and a substantially flat transparentcover plate parallel to the bottom wall, a fluorescent coating on theinner face of said cover plate, convolute partitions in said housing,dividing the same into a plurality of spiral passages, all ofsubstantially the same length, each extending from substantially thecenter to the periphery of the housin and separated from each other by asingle wall extending from the bottom wall to the cover plate, saidhousing and partitions being coated by an insulating enamel, thermionicelectrodes mounted in the housing at each end of said passages, leadinsfor the electrodes, and a suitable gas filling said housing andproviding a discharge path between opposing electrodes serving as a.source of illumination.

4. An illuminating device comprising a sealed flat housing, having asubstantially fiat bottom wall and a substantially flat transparentcover plate parallel to the bottom wall, a fluorescent coating on theinner face of said cover plate, convolute partitions in said housingdividing the same into a plurality of spiral passages, all ofsubstantially the same length, each extending from substantially thecenter to the periphery of the housing and separated from each other bya single wall extending from the bottom wall to the cover plate andfixedly attached to the housing only to maintain the same rigidly withinthe housing without sealing the passages from each other, thermionicelectrodes mounted in the housing at each end of said passages, lead-insfor the electrodes, and a suitable gas filling said housing andproviding a discharge path between opposing electrodes serving as a,source of illumination.

5. An illuminating device comprising a metal housing, having asubstantially fiat bottom wall and a. substantially fiat transparentcover plate, a convolute metal partition in said housing providing aspira1 passage therein extending from substantiall the center to theperiphery of the housing, the partition extending from the bottom wallto the cover plate, said housing and partition being coated by aninsulating enamel, thermionic electrodes mounted in the housing at eachend'of said passage, lead-ins for the electrodes, and a suitable gasfilling said housing and providing a discharge path therein serving as asource of illumination.

6. An illuminating device comprising a metal housing, having asubstantially fiat bottom wall and a substantially flat transparentcover plate, a convolute metal partition in said housing providing a,spiral passage therein extending from substantially the center to theperiphery of the housing, the partition extending from the bottom wallto the cover plate, said housing and partition being coated by afluorescent insulating enamel, thermionic electrodes mounted in thehousing at each end of said passage, lead-ins for the electrodes, and a.suitable gas filling said housing and providing a discharge path thereinserving as a source of illumination.

7. A device of the class described comprising a metal housing, having asubstantially flat bottom wall, a. substantially fiat transparent coverplate therefor, a metal partition in said housing forming a labyrinthinepassage therein coextensive in area substantially with the area of thecover, the partition extending from the bottom wall to the cover plate,said housing and partition being coated with an insulating coating, athermionic electrode mounted in the housing at each end of the passage,lead-ins for the electrodes, and a suitable gas filling said housing andproviding a discharge path therein serving as a source of illumination.

8. A device of the class described comprising a metal housing, atransparent cover plate therefor, a partition in the housing forming alabyrinthine passage therein coextensive in area with the area of thehousing, the partition extending from the bottom wall to the cover, saidhousing and partition being coated with an insulating coating, athermionic electrode mounted in the housing at each end of the passage,lead-ins for the electrodes, and a suitable gas filling said housing andproviding a discharge path therein serving as a source of illumination.

9. A device of the class described comprising a metal housing, atransparent cover plate therefor, a metal partition in the housingforming a spiral passage therein extending from substantially the centerto the periphery of the housing, the passage having an area coextensivewith the area of the housing, said housing and partition being coatedwith an insulating coating, a thermionic electrode mounted in thehousing at each end of the passage, lead-ins for the electrodes, and asuitable gas filling said housing and providing a, discharge paththerein serving as a.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,255,431 Marden Sept. 9, 19412,135,732 Randall Nov. 8, 1938 1,004,503 Troy Sept. 26, 1911 1,813,759Peters July 7, 1931 1,981,903 Cadieux Nov. 27, 1934 1,870,147 S-mallyAug. 2, 1932 1,935,423 Wayringer Nov. 14, 1933 1,984,215 Hotchner Dec.11, 1934 2,298,935 Freeman Oct. 13, 1942

